Drug and substance abuse is among the hot topics in the society today.
Many researches have been done on the same especially the relationship between the taking of drugs and other contemporary life aspects. For example, many researchers have studied the relationship between drug taking and academic performance of students at various levels of their studies. Furthermore, many studies have also been done on the relationship between drug taking and crime. Different nations have different laws that define how drugs should be taken.
Most of the crimes taking place in different places have been associated with drug addicts. This paper analyzes whether drugs should be legalized or not. The question regarding whether drugs should be legalized has continued to linger in the minds of many people for a long period. The genesis of
...the topic is because even in nations whereby all the narcotics and other drug types have been banned, people still access them. For this reason, many people think that it is better for the drugs to be legalized because people will be able to use them without fear and use the best methods while consuming them. There are so many problems associated with drugs that have made many nations shy off from legalizing them.
For example, many researches have associated drug taking with crimes. Most of the people who use narcotic drugs such as Heroin become violent and may cause chaos in various places. As a result, this lowers the order in such places. In addition, the Heroin addicts can also commit crimes such as killing once they get drunk. For this reason, drugs should never be legalized. According to Gaines (338), legalization of drugs
means that drugs shall be able to find their way in homes and schools.
As a result, children may find access to these drugs. Most of the drugs such as the Cannabis Sativa are believed to have negative effects on the life of individuals and, therefore, their intake among children may affect their concentration. For example, the children may become violent and destabilize the peace and order within the learning institutions. In addition, the effects of the drugs may affect the concentration of the children in their studies, and this may end up jeopardizing their future. Even though some nations have legalized the consumption of some drugs, they seem to have ignored the consequences of such drugs on the health of people using them.
In most nations where the taking of some drugs has been legalized, there are some restrictions that need to be followed. For example, even though Netherlands has legalized the taking of cannabis Sativa, many restrictions have been done to regulate its consumption. In addition, the Public Prosecution Service has the mandate to prosecute any individual found, or coffee shops found not observing the regulations. For example, the coffee shops are required to sell a maximum of 5 grams to one person; their stocks should not exceed 500 grams, and the coffee shops should not cause a nuisance.
Furthermore, the coffee shops should not sell hard drugs; soft drugs should not be sold to minors, and the coffee shops should not be located within a radius of 250-metre radius from schools. According to Gorter (918), the provision of all these regulations is a clear way to realize that the government is aware that the drugs
have harmful effects on their users. Because governments are aware that drugs have negative effects on the life of the users they should be in the forefront fighting the legalization of the drugs. Moreover, the fact that government of Netherlands provides that no hard drugs or coffee shops selling marijuana should be operated within a radius of 250 meters with a school is because the government is cognizant of the negative impacts of the drugs to the children (Datwyler, Shannon and George 373).
For this reason, legalization of drugs will be an act of betrayal of the government to the young generations. Any government should be in the forefront for the protection of both the present and the future its people, and therefore, it shall be wrong for any government to legalize drugs. Legalization of drugs means increased levels of insecurity in various parts of the globe. Many researches have exposed that most of the people who take drugs are likely to be involved in crimes.
According to Nurco (221), many conclusions supported by the result of some studies have shown that there is a very strong relationship between the use of narcotic drugs and high rates of crimes. The studies have associated the increasing rates of crimes within increasing intake of heroin and cocaine. Narcotic abusers commit a broad range of crimes, which vary in degrees of their seriousness. Inciardi has documented the characteristics and scope of the various drug-related crimes committed by the narcotic abusers in 1979. He found that 356 of male and female heroin users in Miami had committed 118134 crimes with a one-year period.
This is an average of 332 crimes per individual
(Nurco et al. 223). This research is a clear indication of the strong relationship between the taking of various narcotic drugs and commitment of various capital and lesser-serious crimes. For this reason, if drugs are legalized, the result may be an increasing number of crimes in different parts of the world and consequently insecurity around the globe. For this reason, governments should stand against every act geared towards the legalization of drugs.
Far from the relationship between drugs and crimes activities, drugs have many negative health effects. For example, such effects like the slow functioning of the heart slow breathing can accompany abuse of heroin. Sometimes, the breathing is too slow to a point of threatening the life of the abusers. In addition, the slow breathing can lead to permanent damage to the brain or coma (Verthein 963).
These two effects are dangerous to the life of the abusers and may call for expensive treatment. This treatment may be a burden to both the government and the relatives of the abusers. Most people have suffered from this, and it is the early time that governments show a lot of seriousness in dealing both the abusers and dealers of these drugs. The drugs can lead to deaths and other serious illnesses and, therefore, drugs abuse should not be legalized.
Conclusion
Drugs abuse is the genesis of many problems that affect the society today.
Abuse of some drugs like heroin may lead to deaths or severe illnesses like a coma. Furthermore, different studies have linked drug abuse with an increase in crimes and for this reason, it is clear that drugs mean more harm than good to both the societal
order as well as to the health of the abusers. For this reason, governments should ensure that any act towards the legalization of drugs is discouraged.
Works Cited
- Datwyler, Shannon L., and George D. Weiblen. "Genetic variation in hemp and marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) according to amplified fragment length polymorphisms." Journal of Forensic Sciences 51.2 (2006): 371-375.
- Gaines, Larry K. "Policing the Drug Problem." Drugs, Crime, and Justice: Contemporary Perspectives (2013): 338.
- Gorter, Robert W., et al. "Medical use of cannabis in the Netherlands." Neurology 64.5 (2005): 917-919.
- Nurco, David N., Thomas E. Hanlon, and Timothy W. Kinlock.
"Recent research on the relationship between illicit drug use and crime." Behavioral Sciences & the Law 9.3 (1991): 221-242.
- Verthein, Uwe, et al. "Long?term effects of heroin?assisted treatment in Germany." Addiction 103.6 (2008): 960-966.
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